


Brave Soul

by theimpossiblepossiblegirl



Category: Broadchurch, Secret Diary of a Call Girl (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9158119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theimpossiblepossiblegirl/pseuds/theimpossiblepossiblegirl
Summary: When Alec needs a date to Ellie's New Year's Eve party, the first person he thinks to call is Hannah. When she gets to Broadchurch, Alec admits to her that Ellie tried to set him up with someone and that he told Ellie the two of them were dating. She agrees to go along with the ruse, but finds herself wishing it were true as the night goes on.





	

“Hello?”

“Baxter, I need a favor.”

Hannah smiled softly at his brute nature as she curled up on her couch. It had been a few weeks since she last heard from the brooding Detective Inspector, which was normal. Him asking for a favor from her was anything but. “Hi Alec. I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”

“Baxter.” He grunted out, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“What sort of favor do you need?”

“Miller is throwing a New Year’s party and I need a date.”

“So find someone in Broadchurch to go with.”

“Hannah, please?” His tone was softer this time, almost pleading her.

“Why me?”

“You’re the only one I can tolerate for longer than twenty minutes.”

“Way to make a girl feel special, Alec.” She rolled her eyes slightly, looking down at her nails. “I’ll need some place to stay for the night.”

“You can stay with me.”

“You can’t call me Baxter the whole night.”

“I won’t.”

She let out a sigh. “You’re lucky I don’t already have plans for that night.”

“I’ll make it up to you, Baxter.”

“I’ll be on the train Saturday morning. Can you come collect me from the station?”

“Just let me know what time you’ll be in.” He paused briefly. “Thank you, Hannah.”

“I’ll see you on Saturday, Alec.”

It was just after eleven on Saturday morning when Alec stood on the platform. He was nervous, anyone that passed him could see it. He may not have been completely honest with Hannah when he called her last week and was trying to figure out the best way to tell her. He looked down at his watch once more and knew she would be there soon.

“Alec!”

The man in question turned his head and watched as Hannah walked over to him, dragging her bag behind her. Going over to her, he took the bag from her and pressed a brief kiss against her cheek. “Train all right?”

“Yeah. Not too many passengers.”

“Good.”

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?”

“I told Miller that you were my girlfriend.”

“What for?” She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“She wanted to set me up with someone. I told her I was bringing a date and she kept asking if you were my girlfriend so I finally told her yes.”

“You owe me a kiss at midnight for this.”

“Right.” He wouldn’t mind kissing her, if he were honest with himself and with her, he did fancy her. But he wasn’t sure where she stood anymore with Ben, or anyone else really. “Do you need to stop anywhere before we go?”

“No. Brought everything I needed.” Seeing the look on his face, Hannah relaxed slightly and slipped her hand into his as they walked. “For effect. Just in case anyone is watching us and reports back to Ellie.”

He glanced down at their joined hands and gave hers a gentle squeeze. “Let’s go.”

As Hannah settled herself in his bedroom, Alec leaned against the door and watched as she moved around the room. She had argued with him that she was fine sleeping on the couch, but he wouldn’t listen to her. She was doing him a favor and he wanted her to be comfortable. He would be fine on the couch.

“How did you get roped into Ellie’s party anyway?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Said I don’t get out enough.”

“She is right. What do you do when you come home after work?”

“Baxter.”

“Hardy.” She mocked, stepping closer to him. “I’m worried about you, Alec. You stopped living when you got sick. You’re better now and you’re still moping around.”

“I’m fine.”

“Promise?” Hannah rested her hands against his chest as she felt his heart beating.

“I’m fine.” He repeated, brushing some hair from her face. “Promise.”

She gave him a shy grin before wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. “I’m holding you to that, Detective Inspector.”

“Save me a dance tonight?”

“You can have them all.”

Somewhere over the course of the day the atmosphere changed between the two of them. Despite Alec’s normal nature of wanting to be left alone, he enjoyed Hannah’s company. He watched her try on the two different dresses she brought with her before she ultimately decided to wear a third dress, one he hadn’t seen, to Ellie’s party that night.

“Pick a neutral tie, Alec. You don’t want to match me. It’ll mean we’ve been together for a while and you’ll get more questions that way.” She peaked her head out of the bathroom and looked to where he was sitting on the couch. “How does she think we met?” Hannah had only met Ellie two other times and both times were for less than an hour.

“She doesn’t know you were a call girl, Baxter.” Seeing her look he cleared his throat before correcting himself. “Hannah. She thinks we’ve been friends for a while and now we’re dating.”

“I’m not, a call girl.” She told him quietly. “Haven’t been for well over a year now.”

“I know.” He told her softly. “I’m glad. You deserve better.”

“After everything ended with Ben, I found I no longer had the heart for it. I only stayed for as long as I did after that to save up some money.” She stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her torso while another was wrapped around her hair. “I wanted something normal, something real. I didn’t want someone paying me to sleep with them.”

“Why are you telling me this, Hannah?”

“You’re my friend. My only friend really. I finally have a career I’m happy with, one I can actually tell people about, but I’d like more. Someone to talk to.”

“I’m here.”

“I know.” She gave him a grin before she disappeared back into the bathroom.

If she wanted something more, he would try and give it to her.

Later that night as they stepped into Ellie’s, Alec had his arm wrapped around her waist. He had been speechless upon seeing her dress. Secretly she had been glad she didn’t show him the third one, just as she was secretly glad that he had his arm around her. They mingled around for a while before Alec found a spot in Ellie’s living room and they sat together. They were silent, only listening to other conversations around them.

“Do you know why you kiss someone at midnight on New Year’s Eve?”

“Why?”

“According to the folklore, the first person you encounter in a new year, and of course the nature of it, sets the tone for the rest of the year.”

“You’re making that up.”

“I’m not. A kiss is about making ties you wish to keep in the future. I think it’s lovely.” She nudged her shoulder against his, giving him a brilliant smile. “Did you get a chance to see Ellie? I saw her for a few minutes before.”

“No.”

“Go. I’m going to go find a drink and I’ll come find you.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before going off to find some wine for the both of them.

Alec watched her walk away before going off to find Ellie. He found her in the kitchen, refilling different plates.

“Need help, Miller?”

“I’ve got it Alec, but thanks.” She glanced up at him, a grin on her face. “I see you brought Hannah.”

“Don’t start.”

“I was only stating a fact, Alec.”

“I told you I was bringing her.”

“Last I knew she was just your friend. Didn’t matter if she fancied you or not.” Ellie picked up two of the trays and gave him a look before walking out of the room.

“Ellie!”

“Oh it’s Ellie now?” Hannah remarked as she walked into the kitchen, handing him both wine glasses. “Hold this for a bit, please? I told Ellie I would take the rest of these trays out so she could mingle.”

“Do you need help?”

“I’ve got it.” Hannah picked up the other two trays and led Alec out of the kitchen and into the living room where she set the trays down. There was only half an hour left until midnight and Hannah was hoping for a few minutes alone with Alec. “Do you want to go on the porch?”

“Yeah, we can.”

Hannah took her wine glass from him before following him out onto the porch. “Bit cold out.” She commented as she sat down on the steps.

“Do you want my coat?”

“No, I’ll be okay.” She glanced up at him. “Thanks for inviting me tonight. It was good to see Ellie.”

Alec placed his glass on the ground and shrugged out of his coat before draping it over her shoulders. “You could visit more.” He picked his glass up and sat down next to her.

She clinked her glass against his with a smile. “Here’s to more visits.” She took a small sip from the glass before leaning her head against his shoulder.

Alec nudged her slightly a few minutes before midnight, breaking her from her pensive mood. “Do you want to go in?”

“Yes. As pretty as this dress is, it’s not the best for winter.”

After he stood up, he helped her up and led her inside. They dropped their glasses off in the kitchen and walked into the living room where Ellie had the countdown playing on the television.

“This will be our first kiss.” She teased him, whispering to him.

“Better make it a good one then.” He quipped as he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

She gasped quietly as she placed her hands on his chest to steady herself. “Does it have to be our only one?”

“No.”

_Three…_

_Two…_

_One…_

A chorus of ‘Happy New Years’ rang throughout the small living room, but neither Alec nor Hannah noticed. She kept her eyes focused on his as his hand moved up to cradle the back of her head before he captured her lips in a tantalizing kiss. She wasn’t sure who deepened the kiss, but she did know that they needed to remember their surroundings.

“Oi, Hardy, get a room!”

Hannah broke their kiss and leaned her forehead against his, a grin on her face. “Want to get out of here?”

“Let’s go.”

They said their goodbyes to Ellie and headed towards Alec’s car. She gave him a questioning look as he held the passenger door open for her.

“I only had a sip of the wine.”

The ride back to Alec’s was silent, more out of exhaustion than out of all of their unanswered questions. Once they were inside, Hannah let him change for bed first while she got them some water. Once the door to his bedroom was open again, she walked into the room and handed him one of the bottles.

“The bed is big enough, we can share.” Hannah suggested as she pulled her pajamas from her bag.

“I’ll be fine on the couch.”

“Please?”

Seeing the pleading look on her face, he nodded in agreement. “All right.”

Once she was changed and they both settled in the bed, Hannah slid over and curled up against his chest, his arm wrapped around her. “They say that the first visitor to enter the home on the first of January means the balance of marriage in the next year.”

“Neither one of us is married.”

“Not the point. If a man enters the home then the husband will have more authority for the year and if a woman enters, then the wife will have complete control.”

He laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She already had him wrapped around his finger, not that he would tell her that. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

“Do you have to go back tomorrow or rather today?” Alec’s voice was low, almost afraid of her answer.

“I can stay, if you want me to.”

“I do.”

“I don’t have that many clothes with me.”

“So?”

“Alec Hardy.” She laughed, the sound was quite carefree and refreshing to his ears. “I can stay until Thursday, but by then I will have run out of clothes.”

He eyed her bag which was standing next to his dresser. “How much did you pack?”

“I couldn’t decide which dress to wear and honestly, I didn’t want to go back right away.”

“Things between you and Ben are over?”

“Have been for a while. Over three years.” She let out a small yawn. “Thought I told you. I’m not seeing anyone else either, before you ask.”

“How do you know what I was going to ask?”

“I know you, Alec. Ellie told me you’ve fancied me for a while.”

“Miller and her mouth.”

“She just wants you happy.”

“You make me happy.”

“Then I guess I’ll be around more.” She hummed thoughtfully as she closed her eyes. “We never did get to dance tonight.”

“We’ll go dancing soon.”

When the lull in conversation was too long, at least where Hannah was concerned, Alec looked down at the woman in his arms. She was fast asleep. They could talk more in the morning about where this thing between them would be going, but for now, he was content on simply holding her in his arms.


End file.
